Leah Michelle Is Inked For Your Pleasure

Leah Michelle was referred by GGurls, the online website of beautiful girls from far and wide, who all have delicious cakes in common. This beautiful inked babe and retired Army vet talks about her crush on Allen Iverson, her various online businesses, and how signing with GGurls has changed her life for the better.  —Bernadette Giacomazzo

Measurements: 36-27-39

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/iamleahmichelle

Instagram: @IamLeahMichelle

Tell us a little bit about yourself, in your own words. Who are you? What do you do?

The better question would be what don't I do. I recently left the US Army in Nov. 2012. I was a medic for four years, and during that time I did a one year tour in Afghanistan. Some people would find it important to note that I was a paratrooper and served my time at Fort Bragg in the 82nd Airborne Division. After leaving the army I decided to return to my hometown to finish school, and start my own business. I am currently in my second semester of college and started my own online business called Glamour Gang, I am working on building my brand to become a retail company as well as a place for people to get the latest fashion trends and provide customers with makeup services. I also help other models with makeup application and styling. Modeling is what started all of this for me. I will always have a special place in my heart for the camera. I love creating a different feeling with each look. I would describe myself as a chameleon, because I never look the same twice.

You have a lot of distinctive tattoos. Is there any special meaning behind them? Tell us a little bit about that.

All of my tattoos have meaning. I get a lot of questions about my "red" tattoo that runs from the middle of my butt to underneath my arm on the left side. It says "lies love truth pain" which is my simple version of the relationship cycle. I got it after a bad break up. It reminds me to be careful not to jump to soon when entering into any kind of relationship, whether its personal or business.

What makes you stand out from the rest of the models in your area?

I really believe what makes me stand out in my area is my drive. I don't get discouraged very easily, frustrated at times, but I always keep going.  A lot of the girls that I have met think that this industry has a blueprint and it does not. I have had the privilege to be able to dedicated all of my time to school and my brands, so I know its hard for anyone to work a regular 9-5 and still pursue their dreams. It takes that extra passion to be a part of this industry.

Who is your celebrity crush, and why?

My celebrity crush has always been and will always be Allen Iverson.  I know he gets a bad rap but I come from a family of basketball players so when I was in high school I use to watch him play all the time. I have a tat for him, he represents a special time in my life. I met him and he was very nice to me, despite all the rumors that he wasn't a pleasant person. I was grateful and being from VA as well I respect what he brought to the state.

What was the best modeling experience you've had, so far? What was your worst modeling experience?

Signing with Ggurls was definitely the best. I am so excited to be a part of this brand, and I cannot wait to see what happens from here. The worst experience I had was actually at a video shoot. I was uncomfortable throughout the whole shoot and the artist wanted to take me to get dinner after to "talk business" and ended up telling me he was the next Christ. I was so uncomfortable, I didn't even stay—I got in my car and drove back to VA.

What would you like to do, as a model, that you haven't done yet?

Travel overseas. Ive been to war, so now I want to experience love in another country. I want to do a shoot nude in Italy. I feel like the culture in other parts of the world is more accepting, or free. I am a free spirit, and I honestly have little to no apprehensions. I would also love to be some sort of extra in a Rihanna or Lady GaGa show.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring model, what would it be, and why?

Don't stop at success because there is always another level to achieve. Modeling is not easy, nor is it all fun, glamour, and games all the time. Just when you think you did something great, it's forgotten about. Don't sell yourself short–I worked for free for two years, but you have to put in work to get respect. Just don't cheapen yourself in the process.